GLOBAL FAILURES, REGIONAL SECURITY, LOCAL CONSCIOUSNESS – SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR ENERGY IN POLAND

The current state of Polish energy infrastructure, the predictions of the demands for electricity and European policies aimed at the reduction of carbon dioxide emission all indicate the need for the nuclear power development and further exploitation of reusable sources of energy. The fulfillment of the objectives of the Polish nuclear program faces some difficulties. The most important ones are economic and social ones which are associated with the anxiety caused by the possible dangers connected to the nuclear power plant’s exploitation. The article presents the course and the effects of the largest nuclear failures in the world with the opinions of the Polish society concerning the plans for the development of nuclear energy. These opinions stem from the lack of objective knowledge and misguided belief in the popular myths, which have already been debunked in numerous studies. The exploitation of a hypothetical nuclear power plant based in Poland is reported to be not nearly as dangerous as it is universally believed.